


Shower

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Reaper76 [22]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Showers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-01 02:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16276487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: The thin walls between their showers were fine...the morning duets were even better...the sound of the other man breaking down on the other side of the wall was not something Gabriel could accept.





	Shower

    Gabriel smiled at the familiar of the shower in the next-door flat creaking to life, the pipes rattling as the old building went through its daily struggle of trying to provide hot water. Idly he wondered if his neighbour was ever going to get the pipes looked at, although if he was honest, he would probably miss the noise if it disappeared at this stage. It was part of his routine now, and he hummed softly under his breath as he turned the spray of his own shower up higher, leaning back against the tiles as he waited for the sound of the other man’s voice rising in song. Gabriel was never the one to initiate their early morning duets, although he was always more than happy to join in, even going so far as to delay his own shower some days, if only so that he could smirk at the other man when they passed in the corridor later and enjoy the blush that would greet him.

   Today, however, the minutes stretched on without any sign of his neighbour bursting into song, and he found himself falling silent, the smile slipping from his face as he strained to hear anything over the sound of running water and creaking pipes. He wished that he hadn’t when he finally picked out a soft noise through the wall, eyes widening as he realised that the other was sobbing, the sound was muffled as though he had his hands clamped across his mouth to stifle them.

    It had been months, nearly a year Gabriel realised with a start since the other man had moved in, and in all that time he had never once seen him lose the easy, warm smile that always made him pause to appreciate. Hell, he had even envied him at times, watching as his neighbour charmed person after person with his manner. Now, though it sounded as that smile had not only disappeared but broken completely, and his hands clenched as he leant against the wall, straining to make out what was going on, biting his lip, an aching sensation taking hold as the muffled sounds became louder, clearly overwhelming the attempts to stifle them. It was when they rose into a broken, heart-wrenching wail that he moved, cursing under his breath as he turned the shower off with far more force than necessary, and nearly slipping as he hurried to reach for the towel and his clothes.

    He knew that the other man would have heard him, that he would know that he had been overheard and something unpleasant churned in the pit of his stomach as the creaking pipes quietened as his actions were mimicked on the other side of the wall. It was enough to make him hesitate for a moment. Did he really have the right to interfere? Yet, he knew that there was no way he could ignore that sound and he just hoped that the other man wasn’t going to try and avoid him.

    Gabriel was barely dry before he was yanking on his clothes, not caring what he was pulling on and he was still fighting with his hoodie as he bolted out of his front door a couple of minutes later. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, they were just neighbours, not even friends yet, not really even though he had been working on it for the last few months. And he knew that there was every chance that the blond was going to ignore him, and he couldn’t really blame him as Gabriel would hate to have been caught in such a vulnerable act. But he couldn’t forget that broken wail, or the fact that the other man had been trying to hide the noise, hide his emotion even though there had been no one but him around to hear it, and it was that which allowed him to push through his hesitation and knock on the door.

      There was no answer and he growled under his breath, he might have expected it, but it didn’t mean he was willing to accept it and he knocked again, louder this time, pressing his ear against the door. He strained to hear anything from within the flat, not caring what their other neighbours might think if they caught him doing this. He was just about to knock again when he finally heard movement on the other side of the door and he immediately stilled, hold his breath, eyes narrowing when he heard the footsteps stopping just a short distance away and he could just imagine those blue eyes staring back at him.

    It was tempting to keep knocking, to force the other man to open the door, if only to tell him to get lost. But that wasn’t what he wanted, he wanted to help and make sure that he never heard that broken noise again, and he knew that picking a fight wasn’t the way to do that. Instead he let out an exasperated sigh before leaning against the door, casting a quick glance down the hallway to make sure he was alone before beginning to sing softly.

_“You and I were, you and I were fire…”_

It was a song he had learned from the blond, shared on numerous mornings through the thin wall and over the sound of creaking pipes and running water, and as he sang it now, he realised that at some point he had labelled it as their song and his lips quirked at that thought. At least until he finally heard movement again, his smile fading as he heard the other man take a step forward before faltering again, and he fought to keep his voice soft and soothing, a siren call to draw him forward.

   He had nearly finished a second rendition of the song when he finally heard the anticipated click of the lock turning, the words trailing off as the door slowly crept open and his breath caught as he found himself string into red-rimmed eyes. The bright blue that had first caught his attention was a dulled, replaced by a murky blue that left him feeling uneasily, but it was the tears that he could see threatening to fall and the evidence of previous tears on pale cheeks that had him moving. Launching himself forward and pulling the other man into a tight hug.

    He didn’t ask, he didn’t need to know the answers yet, he just guided the other man’s head down until it was resting against his shoulder, hand moving up to draw lazy, soothing patterns against the broad back. He felt the other’s breathing hitch as he continued to fight back the tears and Gabriel sighed, resting their heads together as he murmured softly. “Let it out…”

_You’re not alone anymore._


End file.
